Le Hoyo Des Dieux BUM NOV 13

[99call]

Le Hoyo Des Dieux   BUM NOV 2013

Aroma at cold:   Rich dark honey, bready, woody

Cold Draw: Sweet funky, woodsy, slight tannic leather

1^st 3rd

Salt on the lips,  tannic mix of oaky wood and leather, Dark leathery raw vanilla bean. Buttery smoke starting stream from the cigar after the first 10mm. That wave of tannic aromatic white woods is building, gladly so is the creamy vanilla, I love that Dieux get into stride so quickly, there’s no crossing of fingers or hoping, it’s just there in spades. Salt, sour, and sweet, in perfect step, and volume dial is slowly, but relentlessly rising

2^nd 3rd 

Like most of the cigars a love the most, theres something slightly funky or rotton in the mix, with Des Dieux, I feel its the rich sour butter/cream.  This is far from being the best from the box, forgot to dry box, and there is distinctly less of the soft lilting vanilla.  Palate very very dry now.  Jesus, this is like working in a saw mill with no mask,  has to be smoked so slowly as its overwhelming, almost unpleasant.  

3rd 3rd

The vanilla is trying to get through, but I think I’ve done the cigar a massive disservice by smoking too wet, the black English breakfast tea paring didn’t help either, it’s a white woods bomb. I still love it, but a long way off what a DD can be

Conclusion  I feel battered, face smashed with an oak baseball bat. The cigar was erratic and searingly powerful, lesson learned, the next one is going to get at least 48 hrs in the dry box.  It could of been a dud, but my gut feeling was it was all my fault. 

Score   The cigar gets a 89, I get a D- 

[JohnS]

Yup, yup, yup...too much cedar or wood and not enough vanilla sweetness. I hear ya! ?

[ohbob976]

just curious what RH do you generally store your cigars at? do you generally drybox everything before you smoke?

[99call]

17 minutes ago, ohbob976 said:

just curious what RH do you generally store your cigars at? do you generally drybox everything before you smoke?

I store at 65% Bovedas,   I only usually dry box in the summer, as even thought the north of the UK is very stable,  we currently have a few steamier days which may have sent the cigar over the edge.     

 

[nKostyan]

Thanks Stefan. Your reviews are rare but interesting.
The excellent ash made me doubt the conclusions about excessive humidity...

[99call]

17 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

Your reviews are rare

Hopefully be doing a lot more, as I've not been that much in the last few months. 

[99call]

19 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

The excellent ash made me doubt the conclusions about excessive humidity...

There could be a chance this specific cigar just needed many more years ageing.   I have two other boxes of Dieux from 2012, and they heavy tannic wood, and ammonia smell on the bundles, is still way too overpowering to consider smoking them. 

 

[nKostyan]

There could be a chance this specific cigar just needed many more years ageing.   I have two other boxes of Dieux from 2012, and they heavy tannic wood, and ammonia smell on the bundles, is still way too overpowering to consider smoking them. 
 

I'm not a big fan of Hoyo, but everything I smoked didn't have ammonia even in the early years. Traditionally, this is a brand with a low strenght?

[99call]

6 hours ago, nKostyan said:

Traditionally, this is a brand with a low strenght?

I would agree with the rest of HDM line, but not Des Dieux (and arguably not the Especial, the ones i've had have been dark and strong),   i would describe the 'ammonia'  in the DD, as a specific tannic sour dry tasting wood flavour.   As I mentioned in the review, it can be overwhelming, and you can smell it off the foot of the bunch

[SCgarman]

1 hour ago, 99call said:

There could be a chance this specific cigar just needed many more years ageing.   I have two other boxes of Dieux from 2012, and they heavy tannic wood, and ammonia smell on the bundles, is still way too overpowering to consider smoking them. 

 

Jeez, 7 years of age and they are not ready for smoking? Any box in my humidor from 2012 is smoking just fine, although I don't have any DD

[nKostyan]

I would agree with the rest of HDM line, bit not Des Dieux (and arguably not the Especial, the ones i've had have been dark and strong),   i would describe the 'ammonia'  in the DD, as a specific tannic sour dry tasting wood flavour.   As I mentioned in the review, it can be overwhelming, and you can smell it off the foot of the bunch

Excellent, I need to try it

[99call]

8 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

Jeez, 7 years of age and they are not ready for smoking? Any box in my humidor from 2012 is smoking just fine, although I don't have any DD

The previous 20 from the box have smoked well (if not very woody).  But this one was overpoweringly tannic. And without the characteristic soft vanilla.  It may just be a blend thing.  des Dieux is one of the few cigars I would not think twice about ageing for 20yrs plus. I wouldn't say the same of Gourmet. Dauphin, Prince, Maire, Roi or Depute

[99call]

5 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

Excellent, I need to try it

I had a look the other day. And they still seem available in Russia. You lucky bugger!

[Vortigan]

6 hours ago, 99call said:

I store at 65% Bovedas,   I only usually dry box in the summer, as even thought the north of the UK is very stable,  we currently have a few steamier days which may have sent the cigar over the edge.     

 

It's certainly been a steamy one today! I came in from wok just after 9pm and briefly considered a smoke but I'd have been fighting it all the way on a night like this.

Very nicely written review, thanks for sharing!

[TheMonk]

Good job!